Roman Culture Vs Western Culture Essay

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Western Culture stemmed from a fusion of various civilizations. The Greek and the Roman civilizations had some of the biggest impact on the development of the ancient world. What was different about these societies from other cultures within the ancient civilizations was their political and religious systems. Through expansion by principal leaders, influence of literature, architecture, and mindset, the Greeks and Romans spread their culture across that of the Western world. The Greek and Roman civilizations differed from each other in ways, but were more alike than many other cultures. Persia for example, was much different from Greece specifically. Persia was an agricultural based empire with strict capitals throughout, whereas, Greece …show more content…

The foundation of Greek culture was balance, reason, and harmony which can be unveiled in their art. As the civilization heavily revolved around religion, massive temples were built to serve the Gods. Greeks believed in many Gods, meaning they had polytheistic views . This notion of polytheism passed down to the Romans who adopted nearly the exact same deities and built similar architecture as well. One of the most famous buildings of worship was the Greek Parthenon built around 447-432 B.C.E, worshipping the goddess Athena . While building these brilliant pieces of art, concepts regarding laws and the natural world from philosophers were being incorporated in the structure. Pillars were often built in temples and various buildings in both Greek and Roman cultures. Doric, ionic, and Corinthian stand as the main three pillars built; each of them becomes increasingly more elaborate by order. For example, the Corinthian was the most intricate. Romans quickly developed a taste for this form of architecture and incorporated into theirs later on. The Romans however were very inventive, and began to develop the arch, vault and dome to add to what they emulated from the Greeks. Using these elements the Romans built what is known as the Coliseum, built over a 10 year span from around 70 AD to 80 AD. The Coliseum was said to hold 50,000 spectators and was used for entertainment

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